If you are looking for the best career choice I have some very good news. Your search is over. There is no question that the best career decision you could possibly make is spelled STEM. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Those are the careers that are the most promising and will probably continue to be so for many years to come.
These are the fields that you should study and get your degree in if you want to write your own professional ticket. Many college grads are commanding over $90,000 as a starting salary and getting great benefits like being able to work at home and name their own hours. Sweet.
Now don’t be disappointed if tech isn’t your thing. You can still ride the tech wave to advance your career even if you aren’t a science/math nerd.
First let’s take a look at the hiring landscape and then we’ll see how you can use this information regardless of your tech skills.
Tech firms across the landscape like SAP, Oracle and Facebook just can’t find qualified candidates to man their keyboards. Tech recruiters are reporting the same problem.
According to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology*, the U.S. needs to increase the number of college STEM grads by about 20% – from 300,000 to about 370,000 a year.
The industry is begging for software engineers and tech salespeople. Without qualified candidates, it will be tough for tech firms to expand as quickly as they’d like. That’s where you can cash in.
First, if you are in college or are able to go back to college, you should seriously consider studying Science, Technology, Engineering or Math. That’s a no-brainer. But as I said, if you are not the least bit interested in these professions, you can still leverage tech demand in a big way. Keep in mind that most people work in a field they did not study. You can hitch your wagon to tech no matter where you are right now.
How? Keep in mind that there is a tremendous demand for software engineers and tech sales people. Let’s say you aren’t an engineer or tech sales guy or gal. So what?
You can still help tech firms put their hands on these people and that’s valuable.
Are you good at networking, social media and solving problems? Consider becoming a tech recruiter or going to work in the HR department of a large tech firm to help them solve their most pressing problem – personnel. You’ll have to work very hard and get out of your comfort zone but if you are successful you’ll be able to write your own ticket. Why? Because you’ll be solving a problem tech firms desperately need to solve.
If you aren’t cut out for recruiting, there is still a success path for you. If you love selling and/or are skilled at sales, move as close as you can to tech sales. If you aren’t in sales right now, it’s not tough to land a selling job even if you don’t have experience.
Once you get your foot in the door, hone your sales skills and get some education in technology. Take some evening classes and read as much as possible about what’s happening in tech. Look for opportunities to get into sales of technology. The best way to do that is to interview potential centers of influence.
If you are motivated, willing to work hard and put in the time you can catapult your professional life. The way to do that is to get the right degree if possible. If that isn’t a possibility right now, maneuver yourself into a position where you can solve tech companies’ problems.
If you take these steps it may take a little time, but once you position yourself correctly, it will be smooth sailing from that point on.
Are you involved in the tech industry? How did you get started?
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